285/75-16 - Big enough to go anywhere?

[BrotherRob]

I

My set up is 851 + 1" spacer front and 860 rear.

Running the original 16" alloy wheels.

I don't mind the look of 285s and 295s would look even better.

All this talk of the 315s making for sluggish performance pretty much turns me off the 34.5" tall tires.

Rather than $2k for gears why not spend $4k for a supercharger that gives a real performance/power boost? Afterall the gears only bring the truck close to the original performance so it isn't exactly a major upgrade.

Notice the guys running 315s are not complaining about performance? Kevin is right, get the tires that are right for you. If you want 315s, listen to the guys running them.

 

[antor]

Good 285s will get a decent driver a lot of places. I've been many places on mine that I probably shouldn't have gone. Not unstoppable, but highly capable.

x2 especially if you have lockers. I have 285s and have been very impressed with where I can go. On the more technical trails I would recommend sliders,skidplates, remove the mudflaps (if you haven't tore em off already) and flares.
That said I'm ready for 37's and 5.29s

 

[nuclearlemon]

A lot of good points have been made already, so I'll give you a visual comparison of the differences between 285 Nitto Terra Grapplers and 35" Trxus. BTW after 12k miles the Trxus are quieter than the Nittos were at 12k miles.

i'll second the trxus. that's what i've got now and i love them. my first trail was in a long drenching rain (started the night before and went well into my day on the trail). i was in an offcamber section and the truxs held me right in line. wayyyyy better than the mtrs' i was running!!!

 

[cadence]

Personally, I feel you can get quality 285 tires that will outperform junk 315 tires offroad and certainly tailoring your 285 brand/model choice to the terrain you're likely to be on (rocks? dry dirt? sand?, etc) takes it that much further toward an idealized choice for a mainly road vehicle.

Good point and I should have given more details.

Lots of pavement but off road will mostly be loose dirt, mud and some small to medium rocks (not Moab style).

If I go 285 or 295 the top contenders are:
Toyo OC A/T
Nitto TG A/T
Hankook Dynapro AT
Trxus whatever (probably too aggressive for my useage)

Of couse I don't want to get flamed for turning this into another Brand X vs Brand Z thread

 

[mister]

Rather than $2k for gears why not spend $4k for a supercharger that gives a real performance/power boost? Afterall the gears only bring the truck close to the original performance so it isn't exactly a major upgrade.


The supercharger would be a waste of time and money without gearing. With a 285 and stock gears the charger would be fine.

 

[7schulz]

I had 305/55/20 toyo OC AT on my ram and loved the tires both on and off road(wooded trails and mud no rock crawling. Only experience I have with tires. I'm interested in the Nitto TRAIL Grapplers (not terra grapplers) The trail graps come in 285/70/16 31.89. Thoughts?

 

[cadence]

The supercharger would be a waste of time and money without gearing. With a 285 and stock gears the charger would be fine.

Totally incorrect. Torque is torque. It doesn't matter if you add it at the engine (SC) or multiply it at the wheels (gears). I assure you a SC'd 80 series with stock gears will reach 80mph before one with a stock engine and 4.88s.

Now back to the tire discussion

I think 285s with skid plates and sliders will take me far enough off road without killing the on road acceleration and braking performance.

 

[cadence]

I'm interested in the Nitto TRAIL Grapplers (not terra grapplers) The trail graps come in 285/70/16 31.89. Thoughts?

Under 32" tall is, IMO, too short for rough terrain.

315/75-16 seems to be the hot ticket if you can deal with the loss of on road performance.

 

[Tools R Us]

...
Lots of pavement but off road will mostly be loose dirt, mud and some small to medium rocks (not Moab style).

If I go 285 or 295 ...

...
I think 285s with skid plates and sliders will take me far enough off road without killing the on road acceleration and braking performance.

... if you can deal with the loss of on road performance.

Sounds like you would be much happier with a 100 series.

 

[cadence]

Sounds like you would be much happier with a 100 series.

Quite true but I don't think I will find a 100 owner that wants to do a straight trade for my 80

 

[livinoffroad]

I'm quite happy with 285s living in the mountains of Idaho however, I'm not a rockcrawler. I need a highway friendly vehicle which gets acceptable mileage for frequent long trips. 285s accomplish that, while significantly improving my offroad capabilities, which I use everytime I leave the house and descend my 2 mile, 13% grade dirt road to go to town. For fun, I choose different dirt roads to explore, than the one I live on, and 285s suffice for all the exploration I need to do, while being, again, quite street friendly.

 

[Hayes]

Get some 295/75R16 Nitto Terra Grapplers and love life with your 80.
The TG are an awesome tire in all conditions short of ugly mud. At 295/75R16 with the medium OME lift your truck will look awesome.

There are all kinds of potential issues (expenses) that come along with going to the 315's. Besides gearing, you will need to lengthen your bump-stops--which will reduce your total suspension travel.

I recently went from 295/75R16 Terra Grapplers to 315/75R16 MTRs. I did this in conjunction with 4.88 gears and speedo correction--the truck drives fine on the road (notwithstanding the degradation of on-road handling going to the MTR tread), but I haven't yet convinced myself that I've gained that much off-road. I haven't yet dealt with the clearance issues (going to do a 1" body lift and see how that helps), and I DO rub at full stuff.

295 Terra Grapplers.
Nuff said.

 

[lt1fire]

bah go 37's

 

[supercarrera]

A lot of good points have been made already, so I'll give you a visual comparison of the differences between 285 Nitto Terra Grapplers and 35" Trxus. BTW after 12k miles the Trxus are quieter than the Nittos were at 12k miles.

Hey Ivan How's the handling with the Trxus compared to the NTGs? I have NTG 285s now and am planning on going Trxus 35s when they wear out. My truck handles great now, and I'm just wondering how the bigger tires will affect that.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Cadence - I recently went through the same dillema as you.

My old set of 305 BFG MT(basically 33"x12.5") was worn uneven, cupped and basically in need of replacement so I thought of going to 315's but eventually decided against due to the whole regearing thing and the fact that I do alot of highway driving and a bit of trailer towing. The effects of the 315's and towing on stock gears with a normally aspirated engine would not be too good, or at least I was told by several cruiser drivers.

I opted for Goodyear Duratrac 285's (33"x10.5"). They are a great tire. 3,500 miles and no complaints. They have an AT center tread with MT outter tread with sidewall ribs. The best of both worlds. Other mudders tried them out first and reported back great results so I took the bait and got a set.

I get descent mpg with them and the street manners are great. Far better than the worn out BFG MT's that the PO put on there. The Duratracs also handle great on wet roads, I thought I got a new set of brakes the first time I had to stop on wet roads! They are also great on dry dirt roads, light mud and snow. I haven't seriously wheeled with them, yet but I think they will do pretty well, except in heavy clay mud where the treads will probably fill up pretty quick.
At 55 mph on a long road trip, I average about 16.2 mpg according to the Scangauge II. I have the Slee speedo correction gear for 285's too. The mpg drops to about 11-12 mpg at 70 mph, depending on if there are hills or not.
I too have 2.5" of lift via the OME 850's up front and 863'sin the back. I also have heay bumpers up front (with a winch) and rear swing out in the back, so a stock truck thats lighter may get better mpg.

Just throwing in what I experienced so you can make a better decision about what tires to get. Hope it helped.

Here are some pics of the tires. They don't completly fill up the wheel wells but I'm sure you will see the limitations of your suspension before you get these to rub.

 

[Hawaiian420Cruzers]

Go 315

Go with 315's. You won't regret it! My LC is on 305's and I felt like it was not enough. So I added 38's on my Dodge Ram. I use both off-road and all it is about is ground clearance. 315's will be enough to run on and off the roads. Just my .02 cents

 

[meathooker]

Rather than $2k for gears why not spend $4k for a supercharger that gives a real performance/power boost? Afterall the gears only bring the truck close to the original performance so it isn't exactly a major upgrade.

far as i can tell gears are only 250 an axle...wheres the other 1500???

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

I officially retract my previous post.

GO WITH THE 315's!

I will soon be upgrading.

 

[retrofive]

315s coming monday (used but ) Wish I had done it 2yrs ago.

 

[MountainBum]

285's not big enough, but I would agree with those on the 295 Nitto terra Graps for what you what to do with your rig. i ran those on my wife's unlocked H3 and it was a perfect compromise for med. trails and lots of mall crawling.